Last night, 9 of us headed out for what turned out to be quite the ponding experience.

Our mission was to give the pond some much-needed TLC. There was plenty of hard work involved, including clearing out the weeds and digging out the stubborn ones, trimming back the ivy, and giving the area around the tomato plants a good weed.

Mark had been endeavored to take it easy on those shoulders, but of course, he couldn't help getting stuck in and digging deep to get to the root of the issue. As he reported today: "digging up those plants definitely took its Pond of Flesh from me.”

There was plenty of newt-ural territory covered in the comments, with everyone getting involved and coming up with increasingly terrible (and therefore brilliant) pond puns. 🐸🤓

The only downside was that it got dark within a few minutes, making it rather difficult to see what we were doing, but we managed to keep the pondemonium under control and no one fell in so that's a success in my book!

A really great difference made last night - thank you everyone - let's not let all these puns water down the achievement… 😉

On Saturday as well as the Parkruns, we've got Clearing up at the Pet Cemetery and weeding at Hervey Road

On sunday we've got Clean up Charlton.

Until next time!

Rachel

What better way to spend a summer evening than giving a community garden a little TLC before rewarding ourselves with a well-earned drink?

This week's GoodGym Greenwich group run took us to the lovely community garden at St Alfege's Primary School, where we were greeted by flourishing fruit and veg, plenty of weeds...and lots of plants needing water.

Water we waiting for?

We got to work and before long, the beds were looking neater and less thirsty and as an added bonus, we were encouraged to sample some of the garden's bounty. Sweet grapes, juicy tomatoes and crunchy apples all made their way into appreciative GoodGym hands - proof that all the love and care poured into this space really does pay off. It certainly lived up to our Grape Expectations.

With the task complete and watering cans returned to their homes, we did what any sensible group of GoodGymers would do: we popped next door to Wetherspoons for a post-mission drink. A chance to cool down, catch up and toast another evening of making a difference together.

Until next time!

After a scorching hot few days in London, 12 GoodGym-ers were grateful for a minty fresh breeze at the Community Garden at St Alfege's School in Greenwich. An ice (coffee) breaker & game of shark attack and we were ready for a short run from the Naval College to this oasis of calm in Greenwich's busy town centre.

Our tasks were as expected at this time of year: basil-ically tackling some stubborn weeds while preserving the other plants/herbs 🌱 Plenty of volunteers meant the task was shared out nicely, but everyone worked dill-igently with no chiving allowed, digging, sweeping, watering & currying heaps of vegetation to the stack.

O-Kale...so the thyme parsley-ed quickly enough, and soon we had to be tarragone...for a quick post-task social which made for a lovely end to the day.

Thanks all & hope to cress paths again soon 🙂

Last night six of us met to do some good in the darkening and slightly damp September evening. And that's what GoodGym is all about - we spread a little joy and the autumn and winter months are a great time to stick with it - as the evenings get darker it makes a difference to meet up with friends and get active each week! This evening we had task to move lots of wood from the middle of the playground to the edges to allow children space to play. It was almost smooth sailing with some dramatic screams from us city folk about the gigantic spiders we unearthed.
We harvested some grapes and some radishes (thank you St Alfege's! I'm going to enjoy nice salad for lunch).

Special welcome to Carolin on her first GoodGym good deed - it's great to have you in the group and we hope to see much more of you!

We parted ways as the rain got heavier, me spotting the 386 and losing any street cred I thought I had running down the road with two giant and alarmingly bulbous radishes. And I didn't make the bus either so ended up running all the way home looking like I'd robbed a community garden.

On Saturday we're back at Hervey Road for some gardening and next Wednesday we're at St Luke's.

Until next time!

Rachel 👋🏻

A bright morning saw us back at St Alfege’s Primary School for some much-needed weeding to help keep the veg beds free from weeds and clear more space for planting.

We were delighted to welcome Philip and Vinita to their very first GoodGym good deeds – a fantastic start to their journey with us. They both got stuck in straight away, bringing plenty of energy and enthusiasm to the task!

Special mention goes to Arthur, who we appointed Chief Worm Hunter. He threw himself into the role with gusto, uncovering worm after worm and providing some very dedicated worm-related entertainment while the weeding continued.

Vinita not only pulled up weeds but also took the lead on capturing the session, snapping photos and putting together a brilliant Instagram video to share our efforts. A great way to kick things off on her GoodGym journey!

With weeds tackled, worms relocated, and smiles all around, it was another great GoodGym session of teamwork, community, and a warm welcome for new friends.

Until next time!

Rachel

8 Greenwich GoodGymers made their way to St Alfege Primary School Community Garden in Greenwich this evening.

Our task was simple: clearing as many weeds as possible... Our main target was the raised beds, which since our last visit have been planted with crops including beetroot and some impressively large radishes. The makings of some great salad there! So keeping the weeds from taking over in these areas is key.

We also made a start on clearing a larger area of overgrowth which required a bit more digging and getting to the root of the matter. We were very impressed by the gardens grapevines, beautifully draping over a pergola area, the perfect spot for a group photo.

(Mean)time got away with us, and it was time for a quick water for the plants and a little post-session social for us, where conversation was slightly overwhelmed by the bells of St Alfege Chuch. Weeding bells indeed.

Welcome back to Olga for her second group run with us!

Next week we're back at the Prince Philip Maritime Museum - see you then!